Knife guard



Dec. 9, 1930. P, D CALLUM l1,784,334

KNIFE GUARD Filed Sept. 9, 1925 y 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 9, 193C. P. D. cALLuM 1,784,334

KNIFE GUARD Filed Sept. 9, 1925 3 She8tSSh9et 3 Patented Dec. 9, 1930 PATENT OFFICE PRSTON D. CALL'U1VI, OF BALTIMOREVMARYLAND KNIFE GUARD Application filed September 9, 1925. Serial No. 55,212.

This invention relates to guardsand particularly to guards adapted for attachment to knife handles.

Heretofore, in the meat packing industry little or no attention has been paid to the protectionof employees in the various oper- -ations of butchering and cutting of meat, against injury to the operating hand caused by thephand slipping from the handle to the blade.

Whenr'operating with a knife equipped with an ordinary handle, an operator frequently receives very vseriousinjiuy to the operating hand due to the handcoining in contact with the blade. The slipping of the Vhand is frequently caused by an accumula tion of fatty substances and etc. on the handle or'the hand. Such slipping'is also caused by the fatigue of the hand and wrist brought on by the constant gripping of the handle.

An object of my invention is to provide a.

knife guard rwhich will overcome the objec tions to the knives now in general use by the production of a guard which will amply protect the operating hand in any and all of the various operations of the meatfpacking industry. f

Another object of my inventionis to pro` vide a knife guard designed for attachment to any of the various types of knives now in general use, a guard which mayY be easily and quicklyattached and removed in caseof` a broken or worn out blade. y n i i A further object of my invention is to pro-l vide a guard which isr positive, highly ein# cient in operation and of marked simplicity, being formed of one piece. stamped or punched in such form or forms as to lendv comfort and ease to the user, yet'economical o in production.

With these and other-,objects in view which may be incident to my improvements, the vinvention consists in the partsiandv combina--V tions to be` hereinafter set forth and claimed, 5 with the understanding .that the `several necessary elements comprising my invention,

may be V,varied in construction, proportionsY and arrangement, without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

In order to makerny invention more clearspecications Y f Figure 1 is a. side elevation of a boning 60 knife illustrating a shield for this Ycharacter 'of knife applied,

F ig.g2 is a. view illustrating the shield in v front elevation, j

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 33 65 Fig. 2,

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on line 4 4 Fig. 2 with the blade and handle in dotted lines, W

Fig. 5 is` a front elevation ofa guard em- 70 ployed in connection with various types of knives,

j Fig. Gis a. sectinoal view taken on line 6-6 li'g'f?V is an elevation taken from the handle 75 sideof a. modified form of guard forgeneral use,

Fig. 8 is a side elevation,

Fig. 9 isa'bottom plan view,

Fig. 10 is an elevation taken from the 80 handlesideillustrating a guard for generalv use, n

Fig. A.1'1 is a sectional view taken on line iiii Fig. 10,:

Fig. 12 is anelevation takenl from the S5 handley side, illustrating the form of shield used lin connection with a butcher knife, Fig.'y 13 "is a. sectional view taken on line 13-13 Fig. 12, 1 e f Fig' 111 is anelevation taken `from the 90 'handle end of theknife, illustrating a guard kcontour being broader at the bottom-4than- The handle is known as the diamond-shape handle, the general run of knives used in the meat packing industry being equipped Withhandles of this type.

Mounted upon .the handle 1Q, is a 'guard 3 comprising a plateor shield oval in general at the to 5. Stampedlor punched-from lth center o the shield 3 are corresponding and e oppositely disposed flanges'. In stamping f the fian es 6 from the shield 3 there is formed when holdin yin the s ield an aperture whichconforms to the diamond-.shapehandle hereinabovev rel vferred to.

, ,"Th'e `guard thusfjo'rmed 'is drawn overthe Vknife blade `and slipped on the forward end Aof ,the-'handle where it is' secured by vrscrews 8 or any yother suitable 'fastening means.

VThevpartic'ular configuration ofthe shield 3 provides `an area giving ample protection tothe greater *expanse of a clenched hand the yhoning knife inthe 'posi- 'tion require "for voperating purposes, ,and

' also affords protection tothe finger section of a clenched hand.

" VThe guardl is stampedfromaj'singl'e piece In Figures Vemployed inthe operationsl ofbutchering or vCutting .ofmmeat or similar. substances; VIn,

` and Aoppositely'ldisposed'flanges 12, having.

1 .a ertures'13,.the objectof which v villherein-4` the construction of this form ofguardI employ-Y a `plate 3 quasi-triangular in formfhav- .ing oppositely disposed wings 9 and a'down- 'wardy projecting ylip 10 which is curved e backwardtas indicated at 11, the object of which will hereinafter appear.` u i i From bet/Ween` the Wings 9 opposite the@y hlade, 'thus preventing injury thereto. y

The` eneralcontour'offtheplate 3 issuch `lip v10 .is stamped andy vbent `corresponding erV appear. y In stamping and forming the .flanges 12there is produced a notchl.shapedf` klto fitsnugly upon the forward end of a diamondvshape handle-`- and to be 'deta'chabflyi.` ,securedfthereto by yscrews orother fastening.

` @the"product'worked upon.' u f f jIn'Figur'es 16"and'V 17 Ihave shownfa 'furff means engaging the apertures 1 3.-

In Figures y:10, and 11 the means of isecur- Iing' the y.guard to the 'knife handle is .some-f what modified. yIn lieu ofthe flanges 13 and the diamond-.shaped notch .14, there is formed a circular aperture 15 havinga collar 16 'with ak clamping' 'bolt` y17.

I n eachlofltheseguards which areintended yfor general vuse itis to be noted :that the"vv oppositely disposed wings and the downwardl andibackwardly projecting'klip vary l "'siight y in `general Ycontour. `While` these vof metal, kthus it may be economicallyr manufactured. Itis stron and durable and 'susceptible Lofabeing easi y `and quickly removed g or attached.l Y

guards are intended for eneral use, meat boning operations a sllg t change 1s requisite, such change being accomplished by flattening out `the curvature inthe lip 10.

. In these forms of guards whichare in tended kfor general use it is to be noted that thefarea betweenkv they wing`s9 is ade uate to accommodate the spread of the c enched Afiend-when the knife handle is grasped in .,theull gnip for operating purposes, thus effectively shielding and protecting the hand 'fndjpreventing the hand 'fromslipping from the handle to the bladefand subsequent initheretoLTheEIipIO not only prevents InfFigures 12, 13, 14, and'15 I llia'velshown guards 4particularly constructed forV use in connection with a butchers knife.v The lmeans Vofffmounting the guard upon the han- "dle isther same yas that described and vshown in Figure 1 to y5 inclusive.: It is'of course to beunderstood that the `contour of thefopenor aperture ,7, may be varied tosuitjthe f `partir'xular, formation of they forward .end 'fof' "anyknife*handle. i

Lln'ea, h of these guards, I provide the plate r3 with og ositely disposed vwings 9 'anda :downwaraper'tfre, in rthe top of the plate and ina "linejwith'thenlip A10 isa depression 18 formed by swa'gng'the `'metal in the opposite krdirectlon fromjthe curvature ll'ofthe lip l*10.Y The vdepressioli18'issoformed as to'give an easy fand, comfortable .rest for the 4first joint of a "t-h11111b5. f f i 7 c The'flaring"wi`v s`9'accommodate and protect'the'spreadlo a clenched hand yvsfh'entheV handle is graspedin the yfull grip for'operat- Y ing purposes and to veffectively lprevent the f "from`slipping1from the handle to the;

as tov elu'ninate"r any sharp angles andjto m'aterially increaseV "the 'structural-strength.

'10.servesto revent the fingersV from slipvent any"interference "between the thermodification `of my improved guard.

This type .of guard is particularly constructy projecting lip 10 which is v e curvedbackward as shown at 11.r Above'the 5, 6; 7, 8,9, loyand 11, I have j showna modifiedfformofguard designed for vuse in connection with various types of'knives kThedown'wardly backwardly'projecting lipv f,

edforfuse' in connection with a pork ribbing knife. 'Theplate is in thevforrn of an irregularV disk vfrornytheperiphery of which is stampedand 'bent flanges 12having aper v1 ;111'es`13 by meansof'which the plateis securedto7ahand1e.' They angles lformed' by vthe stamping andV bending of theflangesbeing rounded-'to :avoidany sharp edges. The` `3o Vfo'rrrn yof* guard Vhere shown is particularly adapted to afford protection to the thumb and under finger arear of a clenched hand when grasping the Vhandle of a pork ribbing knife in the position required for operating purposes. In such operations, it being requisite that the knuckle portion of the operating hand shall closely approach the animal carcass, and the taper of the blade causing the operating hand to form an angle of approximately 20 degrees with the animal carcass, the handle guard has been so designed r that interference thereby with the o-perating process is overcome.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction herein set forth, by way of illustration, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may be made therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention, or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the various features of my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A knife guard comprising, a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly projecting lip, the end of the lip being curved backward, flanges formed integral with the body of the plate between the wings, an aperture formed centrally between the wings and demountable fastening means in the flanges.

2. A knife guard comprising a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly backwardly projecting lip, a depression in the edge of the plate opposite the lip, flanges projecting from the center of the plate and an aperture between the flanges. Y

3. A knife guard comprising a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly projecting lip, the end of the lip being curved backward, a depression in the edge of the plate opposite the lip, corresponding and oppositely disposed flanges projecting from the center of the plate, an aperture formed in the center of the plate, and demountable fastening means in the flanges.

4. A knife comprising a blade portion, a handle portion and a guard mounted on the handle portion, said guard comprising a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly projecting lip, the end of the lip being curved backward, flanges formed integral with the body of the plate between the wings, an aperture formed centrally between the wings and demountable fastening means in the flanges.

5. A knife comprising a blade portion, a handle portion and a guard mounted on the handle portion, said guard comprising a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly backwardly4 projecting lip, a depression in the edge of the plate opposite the lip, anges projectingffrom the center of the plate and an aperture between the flanges.

6. A knife comprising a blade portion, a handle portion and a guard mounted on the handle portion, said guard comprising a plate having corresponding and oppositely disposed wings, a downwardly projecting lip, the end of the lip being curved backward, a depression in the edge of the plate opposite the lip, corresponding and oppositely disposed anges projecting from the center of the plate, an aperture formed in the center of the plate and demountable fastening means in the flanges.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PRESTON D. CALLUM. 

